All posts in category Underworld

The Autumnal Equinox is a beautiful and symbolic time of balance, both within us and surrounding us in the nature, Earth and skies. During this phase, the length of day and night are more or less of equal length, marking the end of the summertime as we make the transition towards winter. The Sun also ingresses into the sign of Libra at this time – the sign of balance and harmony in all our relationships. From this point onwards, the daylight decreases as night time increases, marking a symbolic journey into the Underworld, the inner journey of self discovery, the journey into the senses, intuition and wisdom as we draw upon the harvest of all that we have experienced so far.

At the equinox, it a lovely time to contemplate and meditate upon the balance that is around us and within us as we come into the present moment. The inner journey is primarily a solitary one, yet it is one we are all on, shared in a wordless wisdom, knowing and being. The Underworld, the unconscious, or subconscious, areas of our lives that are not primarily in conscious awareness, areas that we choose to put aside for now to deal with later, sides of ourselves that have not been faced, or simply just learning to ‘be’ rather than distracting ourselves continously is not something to be feared, though like the energy of Pluto, it can be a little unerving at first as one senses the advent of change and inner growth. However, it is through facing the unconscious, facing the aspects of ourselves that exist but may be ignored, we grow whole, strong and fulfilled. The Autumnal equinox marks a point in time to embrace the inner journey towards self discovery which brings us into balance with our own day and night. It is a perfect time to get in touch with the inner balance that comes from finding a quiet time to re-connect with ourselves and ground our energies back within us. During the Autumn the harvest gathers up the sustenance that keeps us going through the hard months of winter, in the same way, through connecting with ourselves in some quiet time each day, we draw upon a sustenance that can only be felt in the heart and soul. This ever present energy helps to see us through the hard times, provides a spark of light in the darkest night.

Looking at the Libra ingress chart for September 2011, the asteroid 55 Pandora conjunct Fortuna both in trine to Jupiter at 9 degrees Virgo and Taurus the earth signs. This ties into the Underworld theme of self discovery as Pandora can open our eyes to things we may want to keep locked away, similar to Saturn with his lessons and who is in exhaltation in the sign of Libra. Pandora with Jupiter may bring wisdom and guidance during the coming months as we integrate our discoveries, both inner and outer, with wisdom and understanding. Pandora can also be a scapegoat in soceity whereby one person, Pandora, does or says something wrong and attracts all kinds of anger and negativities from other members of society, whereas these others also do and think the same thing as the Pandora person but cannot admit it to themselves, thus projecting it outwards onto the nearest scapegoat. Whether we become the scapegoat, or we project our ‘darker’ or more hidden traits outwards, the trine from Juptier as well as meditation and contemplation can help us to discover what traits actually belong to us, and what belongs to the other person. Another aspect of Pandora is the hope that was left in the box after all the other ills had flown out. Even when one bad thing after another keeps happening, there is always hope and faith, with Juptier combined, even if it is just the tiniest bit of hope, it is always there.

Mars in Leo is exactly trine Uranus, also heading to an inconjunct with Pluto, just having passed inconjunct to Chiron. Another aspect of penetrating enquiry into what we may need to release, accept and heal in order to fully express and explore the inner, fun loving child. Flashes of insight are available as well as alot of energy to break free past restrictive barriers, going to the root of the matter. This Mars is forming a mutually ingoing square to Jupiter while Sun sextiles Mars, adding a good deal of motivation, drive and energy that needs an outlet of expression and can be used to work towards our goals. The transformation and deep theme continues with Sun in square to Pluto while opposing Uranus, highlighting our coming time of change within society. This is the early stage of the Uranus/Pluto square which continues and matures, finally fading after 2015. The changes are happening all around us, Uranus in Aries seems to be bringing much change at speed with Pluto breaking down old outworn structures to make way for something new and more in line with our current state of evolution. This is happening within us and is relfected outwards in our societies.

What to do in such times of change? The only constant in all this change is the eternal moment of ‘now’, everything else is in constant motion and cannot truly be grasped. To become fluid and flow with the changes gracefully is to be one with the moment, feeling the natural law of the universe, of change and also of constant peace energising every cell in the mind, body and soul. Mars in Leo at this time may also be calling us to express what we have inside in ways that are playful to us, be bold and confident in our uniqueness, tune into our inner light and re-discovery our vitality through the process of self discovery, understanding and empowerment during the winter months. We have an inner harvest full of more than enough to sustain us and re-vitalise us when we need it, we simply need to tune into our inner wealth, letting go of what stifles and holds us back, tuning into what makes the heart feel alive. what makes our hearts feel warm. strong and alive.